truthout.org/docs_03/121003A.shtml
His service in combat, coupled with his principled stand against the Vietnam war and his time on the Foreign Relations Committee, has forged a whole man. This serves him well in the primaries with fence-sitters, and with people who might think Democrats are soft on national defense. This is the point at which the professor will lean against his podium and ask his class to theorize on how well such a candidate would do in a crowded field in the run-up to the primaries. The professor, with a puckish grin, will instruct the class to turn to page 214 of their textbooks, and read the history of John Kerrys Presidential run in the fall and winter of 2003. John Kerrys liberal record in the Senate is remarkable in its depth and consistency. His public stand against the Vietnam war, augmented by his status as a decorated veteran of that conflict, made history. His attacks on the Reagan administration, his fight to expose the Iran-Contra/BCCI scandal, are among the main reasons the public became schooled on those travesties. His time on the Foreign Relations Committee places him head and shoulders above the other Democratic candidates in terms of real-world foreign policy experience. Yet today, John Kerry teeters on the edge of total irrelevancy in the race for the White House. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean holds a double-digit lead over Kerry in New Hampshire, and is leading or surging elsewhere. Kerrys campaign suffered a blowout several weeks ago when he fired his campaign manager, an act that led to the resignations of several other prominent staffers. While this may have ultimately been a healthy bloodletting, it caused the national press to write stories about The Ailing Kerry Campaign, obscuring any and all policy discussions that would have served his run. On Monday night, the Associated Press reported the huge news that Al Gore had decided to publicly endorse Howard Dean. Is he publicly distancing himself from the powerful Clinton-controlled wing of the party? Slice those issues whichever way you please, but at the end of the day it was yet another brick in the ever-growing wall standing between Kerry and the nomination. Ask virtually anyone who accounts themselves a member of that liberal Democratic base, and theyll answer in a heartbeat. The wheels came off on October 11, 2002, the day John Kerry voted Yes on George W. The occupation of Iraq, the mounting American casualties, the skyrocketing cost of the conflict, and the still-missing weapons of mass destruction have become a significant liability to Bush. Amazingly enough, however, the Iraq situation has been far more damaging to Kerry than to Bush. The same liberal base that flocks to the polls during the primaries took to the streets in vast, unprecedented numbers last fall and winter to oppose the push towards war in Iraq. Any politician who voted for the resolution was of no account to these people, worse than useless, an enabler of Bushs extremist agenda, and not at all to be trusted. Deans passionate yet nuanced positions against the war drew legions of fiery supporters to his campaign, despite the fact that he is far less liberal than Kerry. The fact that Kerry had served in Vietnam, and then become an anti-war activist, was an added twist of the knife for those working against the invasion of Iraq, a betrayal of his own history and his people. For Kerry, keeper of that extraordinary liberal record, this one vote amounted to a couple of torpedoes below the water line of his campaign. There are but a few weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. In an effort to galvanize the message Kerry wants to deliver in the time remaining, he convened a powerful roster of journalists and columnists in the New York City apartment of Al Franken last Thursday. The gathering could not properly be called a meeting or a luncheon. The crowd I joined in Frankens living room was comprised of: Al Franken and his wife Franni;
We sat in a circle around Kerry and grilled him for two long hours. In an age of retail politicians who avoid substance the way vampires avoid sunlight, in an age when the sitting President flounders like a gaffed fish whenever he must speak to reporters without a script, Kerrys decision to open himself to the slings and arrows of this group was bold and impressive. He was fresh from two remarkable speeches one lambasting the PATRIOT Act, another outlining his foreign policy ideals while eviscerating the Bush record and had his game face on. He needed it, because Eric Alterman lit into him immediately on the all-important issue of his vote for the Iraq War Resolution. Senator, said Alterman, I think you may be the most qualified candidate in the race, and perhaps also the one who best represents my own values. But there was one overriding issue facing this nation during the past four years, and Howard Dean was there when it counted, and you werent. A lot of people feel that moment entitles him to their vote, even if you have a more progressive record and would be a stronger candidate in November. How are you going to win back those people who you lost with your vote for this awful war? Your campaign has been wounded, perhaps mortally, because of this. Explain yourself, and while youre at it, explain how you are going to win back enough Dean voters to keep you from becoming a footnote in this race. For over a year now, Kerry has struggled to respond to that question. On Thursday, seated before the sharpest knives in the journalistic drawer and facing the unconcealed outrage of Alterman, the Senator from Massachusetts explained why he did what he did. The comments below reflect Kerrys answers over the course of a long conversation and debate on the matter. This was the hardest vote I have ever had to cast in my entire career, Kerry said. I voted for the resolution to get the inspectors in there, period. Remember, for seven and a half years we were destroying weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. After that came those four years when there was no intelligence available about what was happening over there. I believed Bush needed this resolution in order to get the United States to put the inspectors back in there. The only way to get the inspectors back in was to present Bush with the ability to threaten force legitimately. The way Powell, Eagleberger, Scowcroft, and the others were talking at the time, continued Kerry, I felt confident that Bush would work with the international community. We were told that any course would lead through the United Nations, and that war would be an absolute last resort. Many people I am close with, both Democrats and Republicans, who are also close to Bush told me unequivocally that no decisions had been made about the course of action. Bush hadnt yet been hijacked by Wolfowitz, Perle, Cheney and that whole crew. Did I think he would make such an incredible mess of the situation? The Bush administration brought Resolution 1441 to the United Nations in early November of 2002 regarding Iraq, less than a month after the Senate vote. The words weapons inspectors were prominent in the resolution, and were almost certainly the reason the resolution was approved unanimously by the Security Council. Hindsight reveals that Bushs people likely believed the Hussein regime would reject the resolution because of those inspectors. When Iraq opened itself to the inspectors, accepting the terms of 1441 completely, the administration was caught flat-footed, and immediately began denigrating the inspectors while simultaneously piling combat troops up on the Iraq border. The promises made to Kerry and the Senate that the administration would work with the United States, would give the inspectors time to complete their work, that war would be an action of last resort, were broken. Kerry completed his answer by leaning in close to Alterman, eyes blazing, and said, Eric, if you truly believe that if I had been President, we would be at war in Iraq right now, then you shouldnt vote for me. Pointing out Bushs mistakes is relatively simple, but what of solutions to the Iraq mess? I believe the prospects for success on the ground will be far...
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